Toy Story 2
Toy Story 2 is a 1999 computer animated theatrical adventure movie released by Disney and Pixar Aniamtion Studios. It is the third movie released by Pixar the first sequel to their first film, Toy Story. Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Jim Varney, Don Rickles, Annie Potts, John Morris, Laurie Metcalf, R. Lee Ermey, and Jeff Pidgeon reprise their roles from the original Toy Story. In the film, Woody is stolen by a toy collector who plans to sell him to a museum in Japan, and Buzz Lightyear, Rex, Hamm, Slinky Dog and Mr. Potato Head vow to rescue him. However, Woody finds the idea of immortality in a museum tempting. Toy Story 2 introduces some new characters voiced by Joan Cusack, Jodi Benson, Estelle Harris, Wayne Knight, Kelsey Grammar and Andrew Stanton. Joe Ranft, the voice of Lenny in the original film, even voices new character Wheezy The Penguin. Plot Toy Story 2 continues some time after the events of the first Toy Story Movie. Buzz Lightyear (Voiced by Tim Allen) (Voiced by TimAllen) and Rex (Voiced by Wallace Shawn) are playing Andy's Buzz Lightyear videogame - BUZZ LIGHTYEAR: ATTACK ON ZURG! Rex is upset that he can never defeat the game's last boss, Buzz's arch enemy, The Evil Emperour Zurg (Voiced by Andrew Stanton). (Voiced by Wallace Shawn) (99((Voiced by.Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) is preparing to go to cowboy camp with Andy (Voiced by John Morris). Before they go, Woody must find his hat, which is missing. Buzz asks if anyone has found it. All the toys are looking for it. Finally Slinky Dog (Voiced by Jim Varney) enters the room, claiming he has found it! Then Andy enters the room and plays with Woody, Buzz, Hamm (Voiced by John Ratzenberger) and Bo Peep (voiced by Annie Potts) and when Andy tries to make Woody and Buzz do their special handshake Woody's arm is accidentally ripped so Andy leaves him behind while his mom (Voiced by Laurie Metcalf) puts him on the shelf. While Woody is on the shelf, he discover Wheezy(Voiced by Joe Ranft). A toy penguin who has been there for months after his sqeauker broke. Wheezy is almost sold at a yard sale although Woody recuses him with the help of Andy's dog Buster. There Woody is stolen by a man who, with the help of Etch-a-Sketch and Mr. Spell. Buzz recognizes as Al McWhiggin (Voiced by Wayne Knight), the greedy, avaricious owner of a shop named Al's Toy Barn, from a commercial. Buzz set out to rescue Woody along with Rex, Hamm, Slinky and Mr. Potato Head (Voiced by Don Rickles). In Al's apartment, Woody discovers that he is a valuable collectible based on an old TV show called Woody's Roundup. He meets the other toys from the show - Jessie the yodeling cowgirl (Voiced by Joan Cusack), Woody's horse Bullseye, and Stinky Pete the Prospector (Voiced by Kelsey Grammar) and learns Al plans to sell them to a toy museum in Tokyo, Japan. Jessie, Bullseye and the prospector are excited about the trip but Woody intends to go home because he is Andy's toy. Jessie, who is afraid of the dark, is furious with him as the museum will only want the whole gang; without him, they will go back into storage. That night, when Woody's whole arm comes off, his attempt to retrieve it and escape is foiled when the TV comes on. Woody, seeing the remote in front of Jessie, accuses her of sabotaging his escape. Outraged, Jessie tackles Woody to the ground and beats him up until the prospector orders her to stop.The following morning, Woody's arm is re-attached to his body and he prepares to go back to Andy's house. Before leaving, The prospector convinces Woody to make amends with Jessie. He talks with Jessie and she reveals that she was once the beloved toy of a child named Emily who eventually outgrew and gave her away. The Prospector warns him that the same fate awaits him when Andy grows up. So Woody decides to stay with Jessie, Bullseye and the prospector, much to their delight. Meanwhile, Buzz and the other toys reach the Al's Toy Barn. While searching the store for Woody, Buzz is captured and imprisoned in a box by a newer Buzz Lightyear action figure (Also voiced by Tim Allen) after a fight between them and the New Buzz's utter delusion. The new Buzz thinks he is a real space ranger, just like Andy's Buzz in the first film. The new Buzz joins the other toys, oblivious to the fact he is an imposter, as they make their way to Al's apartment. The Real Buzz escapes and pursues them, thinking they have also been captured by Al. When he gets out of Al's Toy Barn, he unknowingly and accidentally releases an Emperor Zurg action figure who follows him. The Buzz rejoins the others and they all find Woody, who initially refuses to return because he does not want to abandon the rest of the Roundup Gang. After Buzz reminds Woody of "a toy's true purpose", and he is moved by seeing himself sing "'''You've Got a Friend in Me", he changes his mind again, decides to go back to Andy’s house and asks the Roundup toys to come with him. However, Prospector prevents their escape and reveals that he wants to go to Tokyo because he spent his life on a dime store shelf and was never sold. To ensure this, he made sure Woody would not want to go home, and also he was the one who sabotaged his escape the previous night, framing Jessie. Al arrives and takes Woody and the Roundup toys with him, forcing both Buzz Lightyears and Andy's toys to follow him. They follow Al to an elevator where they encounter Zurg who fights the new Buzz, during their battle, Zurg tells the new Buzz he is his father (echoing The Empire Strikes Back). Before he can "Finish New Buzz Off" Zurg is knocked off the elevator by Rex, who is happy that he finally defeated. When they reach the ground floor, the new Buzz stays to play with Zurg, who survived the fall while the real Buzz and the other toys continue their pursuit of Al. Accompanied by three Toy Aliens (Voiced by Jeff Pidgeon), they use a Pizza Planet delivery truck to follow Al to the Tri-County International Airport. During the chase, The aliens fall out of the car, but Mr. Potato Head saves them and they worship him. The toys eventually arrive at the airport ... .... chascwhere they enter the check-in area, the baggage processing area to find Woody and the Roundup toys. In an attempt to prevent Woody escaping, Prospector tries to mutilate him, but is captured and stuffed into a little girl's backpack by Buzz and the other toys. While Woody and Bullseye are saved, Jessie ends up on the plane for Tokyo. Assisted by Buzz and Bullseye, Woody boards the plane and convinces Jessie to come with them to Andy's house, telling her that he has a little sister. However, the plane starts up before they can escape but they leave through an emergency hatch just as the plane gets onto the runway. Woody lassoes his string over a nut on the plane's wheels, and swings with Jessie between the plane wheels before landing on Bullseye just as the plane takes off. Buoyed up by living "Woody's Finest Hour," the toys go home. Andy returns home and accepts Jessie and Bullseye into his toy collection and even writes his name on their feet (Which he also did with Woody and Buzz). Buzz takes a fancy to Jessie. Hamm and Rex learn from a commercial that Al's business has suffered due to his failure to sell the Roundup toys. Molly's Mrs. Potato Head (Voiced by Estelle Harris) adopts the Aliens, much to her husband's dismay and Wheezy gets a new sqeuaker. As Jessie and Bullseye delight in having a new owner, Woody tells Buzz that he is not worried about Andy outgrowing him, because when he does, they will always have each other for company '''"for infinity and beyond." Cast *Tom Hanks as Woody the cowboy *Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear the space ranger (Credited) and his twin Bonus Belt Buzz (Uncredited) *Joan Cusack as Jessie, a yodeling Cowgirl, whom Andy's Buzz becomes interested in. *Kelsey Grammer as Stinky Pete, a prospector. Credited simply as Prospector. *Don Rickles as Mr. Potato Head *Jim Varney as Slinky Dog *Wallace Shawn as Rex the dinosaur *John Ratzenberger as Hamm the piggy bank *Annie Potts as Bo Peep, Woody's girlfriend *Estelle Harris as Mrs. Potato Head, Mr. Potato Head's wife *Wayne Knight as Al McWhiggin, the man who steals Andy's favorite toy for his own selfish purposes. *John Morris as Andy Davis, Woody and Buzz's owner *Laurie Metcalf as Andy's Mom *R. Lee Ermey as Sarge *Jodi Benson as Barbie *Jonathan Harris as Geri the Cleaner, a man who restores toys. *Joe Ranft as Wheezy (speaking voice) (Ranft also provided the speaking voice of Lenny in the First Movie) *Robert Goulet as Wheezy (singing voice) *Andrew Stanton as Evil Emperor Zurg *Jeff Pidgeon as Squeeze Toy Aliens Cast Notes: *This is Jim Varney’s last time doing the voice of Slinky Dog'. '''He died in 2000. Blake Clark', who knew Varrey, took over the role in Toy Story 3. *Non Speaking characters include Barrel of Monkeys, Robot, Etch A Sketch, Snake, Shark, Rocky Gibraltar, Lenny, Clown, RC, and new Characters Bullseye and '''Buster. Production Development Talk of a sequel to Toy Story began around a month after the film's opening, in December 1995. A few days after its release, Lasseter was traveling with his family and found a young boy clutching a Woody doll at an airport. Lasseter described the boy's excitement to show it to his father as touching him deeply. Lasseter then realized that his character no longer belonged to him only, it belonged to others as well. The memory was a defining factor in the production of Toy Story 2, with Lasseter moved to create a great film for that child and for everyone who loved the characters. Ed Catmull, Lasseter, and Ralph Guggenheim visited Joe Roth, successor to recently-ousted Jeffery Katzenberg as chairman of Walt Disney Studios, shortly afterward. Roth was pleased and embraced the idea. Disney had recently begun making direct-to-video sequels to its successful features, and Roth wanted to handle the Toy Story sequel this way, as well. Prior releases, such as 1994's Aladdin sequel, The Return of Jafar, had returned an estimated hundred million dollars in profits. Initially, everything regarding the sequel was uncertain at first: whether stars Tom Hanks and Tim Allen would be available and affordable, what the story premise would be, and even whether the film would be computer-animated at Pixar or traditionally at Disney. Lasseter regarded the project as a chance to groom new directing talent, but top choices were already immersed in other projects (Andrew Stanton in A Bug's Life and Pete Docter in early development work for a film about monsters). Instead, Lasseter turned to Ash Brannon, a young directing animator on Toy Story whose work he admired. Brannon, a CalArts graduate, joined the Toy Story team in 1993. Walt Disney Studios and Pixar Animation Studios officially announced the sequel in a press release on March 12th 1997. Story Lasseter's intention with a sequel was to respect the original film and create that world again. The story originated with Lasseter pondering what a toy would find upsetting. Lasseter wondered how a toy would feel if they were not played with by a child or, worse, displaced by another toy. The scope for the original Toy Story was very basic and only consisted over two residential homes, whereas Toy Story 2 has been described by Unkrich as "all over the place." An obsessive toy collector, who had appeared in a draft of Toy Story but was later later expunged, was inserted into the film. Brannon suggested the idea of a yard sale where the collector recognizes Woody as a rare artifact. The concept of Woody as a collectible set came from the draft story of A Tin Toy Christmas, an original half-hour special pitched by Pixar to Disney in 1990. Secondary characters in Woody's set emerged from viewings of 1950s cowboy shows for children, such as Howdy Doody and Hopalong Cassidy. The development of Jessie was kindled by Lasseter's wife, Nancy, who pressed him to include a strong female character in the sequel, one with more substance than Bo Peep. To make the project ready for theaters, Lasseter would need to add twelve minutes or so of material and strengthen what was already there. The extra material would be a challenge, since it could not be mere padding; it would have to feel as if it had always been there, an organic part of the film. With the scheduled delivery date less than a year away, Lasseter called Stanton, Docter, Joe Ranft, and some Disney story people to his house for a weekend. There, he hosted a "story summit," as he called it - a crash exercise that would yield a finished story in just two days. Back at the office that Monday, Lasseter assembled the company in a screening room and pitched the revised version of Toy Story 2 from beginning to end. Story elements were recycled from the original drafts of Toy Story. The original opening sequence of the original film featured a Buzz Lightyear cartoon playing on television, which evolved into the Buzz Lightyear video game that would open Toy Story 2. A deleted scene from Toy Story featured Woody having a nightmare which involved him being thrown into a trash can was incorporated in a milder form for showing Woody's fear of rejection. The idea of a squeak-toy penguin with a broken squeaker also resurfaced from an early version of Toy Story. Animation As the story approached the production stage in early 1997, it was unclear whether Pixar would produce the film, as the entire team of 300 was busy working on A Bug's Life for a 1998 release. The Interactive Products Group, with a staff of 95, had its own animators, art department, and engineers. Under intense time pressure, they had put out two successful CD-ROM titles the previous year: The Toy Story Animated StoryBook and The Toy Story Activity Center. Between the two products, the group had created as much original animation as there was in Toy Story itself. Steve Jobs made the decision to shut down the computer games operation and the staff became the initial core of the Toy Story 2 production team. Before the switch from direct-to-video to feature film, the Toy Story 2 crew had been on its own, placed in a new building that was well-separated from the rest of the company by railroad tracks. "We were just the small film and we were off playing in our sandbox," co-producer Karen Jackson said. Lasseter looked closely at every shot that had already been animated and called for tweaks throughout. The film reused digital elements from Toy Story but, true to the company's "prevailing culture of perfectionism, it reused less of Toy Story than might be expected." Character models received major upgrades internally and shaders went through revisions to bring about subtle improvements. The team did, however, freely borrow models from other productions, such as Geri from Pixar's 1997 short Geri's Game, who became the Cleaner in Toy Story 2. Supervising animator Glenn McQueen inspired the animators to do spectacular work in the short amount of time given, assigning different shots to suit each animators' strengths. Whilst producing the original Toy Story, the crew was very careful in creating new locations due to technology at that time. By production on Toy Story 2, technology had advanced farther to allow more complicated camera shots than were possible in the first film. In making the sequel, the team at Pixar didn't want to stray too far from the look of the original film, but the company had developed a lot of new software since the first feature had been completed. To achieve the dust visible after Woody is placed on top of a shelf, the crew was faced with the challenge of animating dust, an incredibly difficult task. After much experimentation, a tiny particle of dust was animated and the computer distributed that image throughout the entire shelf. Over two million dust particles are in place on the shelf in the completed film. Controversy and troubled production Production problems were evident from the beginning. Disney soon became unhappy with the pace of the work on the film and demanded in June 1997 that Guggenheim be replaced as producer, and Pixar complied. As a result, Karen Jackson and Helene Plotkin, associate producers, moved up to the role of co-producers. Lasseter would remain fully preoccupied with A Bug's Life until it wrapped in the fall. Once available, he took over directing duties and added Lee Unkrich as co-director. Unkrich, also fresh from supervising editor duties on A Bug's Life, would focus on layout and cinematography while Brannon would be credited as co-director. In November 1997, Disney executives Roth and Peter Schneider viewed story reels for the film, with some finished animation, in a screening room at Pixar. They were impressed with the quality of work and became interested in releasing Toy Story 2 in theaters. In addition to the unexpected artistic caliber, there were other reasons that made the case for a theatrical release more compelling. The economics of a direct-to-video Pixar release weren't working as well as hoped thanks to higher salaries of the crew. After negotiations, Jobs and Roth agreed that the split of costs and profits for Toy Story 2 would follow the model of a newly-created five-film deal - but Toy Story 2 would not count as one of the five films. Disney had bargained in the contract for five original features, not sequels, thus assuring five sets of new characters for its theme parks and merchandise. Jobs gathered the crew and announced the change in plans for the film on February 5th 1998. However, many of the creative staff at Pixar were not happy with how the sequel was turning out. John Lasseter, upon returning from European promotion of A Bug's Life, watched the development reels and agreed that it wasn't working. Pixar met with Disney, telling them that the film would have to be redone. Disney, however, disagreed, and noted that Pixar did not have enough time to remake the film before its established release date. Pixar decided that they simply could not allow the film to be released in its existing state, and asked Lasseter to take over the production. Lasseter agreed, and recruited the creative team behind the first film to redevelop the story. Unkrich, concerned with the dwindling amount of time left, asked Jobs whether the release date could be pushed back. Jobs explained that there was no choice, presumably in reference to the film's licensees and marketing partners, who were getting toys and promotions ready. Brannon focused on development, story and animation, Lasseter was in charge of art, modeling and lighting, and Unkrich oversaw editorial and layout. Since they met daily to discuss their progress with each other (they wanted to make sure they were all going in the same direction), the boundaries of their responsibilities overlapped. As common with Pixar features, the production became difficult as delivery dates loomed and hours inevitably became longer. Still, Toy Story 2, with its highly compressed production schedule, was especially trying. While hard work and long hours were common to the team by that point (especially so to Lasseter), running flat-out on Toy Story 2 for month after month began to take a toll. The overwork spun out into carpal tunnel syndrome for some animators, and repetitive strain injuries for others. Pixar did not encourage long hours, and, in fact, set limits on how many hours employees could work by approving or disapproving overtime. An employee's self-imposed compulsion to excel, however, often trumped any other constraints, and was especially common to younger employees. In one instance, an animator had forgotten to drop his child off at day care one morning and, in a mental haze, forgotten the baby in the backseat of his car in the parking lot. "Although quick action by rescue workers headed off the worst, the incident became a horrible indicator that some on the crew were working too hard," wrote David Price in his 2008 book The Pixar Touch. To meet Disney's deadline, Pixar had to complete the entire film in nine months. Music Toy Story 2: An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack is the original score soundtrack album to Toy Story 2. Although currently out of print in the U.S., the CD is available in the U.S. as an import and all but one song is available digitally. All songs written and composed by Randy Newman. Randy Newman wrote two new songs for Toy Story 2 as well as the complete original score: "When She Loved Me" – performed by Sarah McLachlan: Used for the flashback montage in which Jessie experiences being loved, forgotten, and ultimately abandoned by her owner, Emily. This song was nominated at the Oscars in 2000 for Best Song, though the award went to Phil Collins for "You'll Be in My Heart" from another Disney animated film Tarzan. "Woody's Roundup Theme Song" – performed by Riders in the Sky: Theme song for the "Woody's Roundup" TV show. Also end-credit music. The film carried over one song from Toy Story, "You've Got a Friend in Me," sung at different points during the film by Tom Hanks and Robert Goulet. The film added two more Randy Newman compositions, Jessie's song - "When She Loved Me," sung by Sarah McLachlan over a montage of Jessie's past life, and the "Woody's Roundup" theme. Reception The film was no less successful than its predecessor in a commercial perspective; it became the highest-grossing animated film of 1999, earning $245 million domestically and $485 million worldwide - beating both of Pixar's previous releases by a significant margin. It was the second highest-grossing animated film of all-time for a time, behind Disney's The Lion King (1994). Toy Story 2 opened over the Thanksgiving Day weekend at No.1 to a three-day tally of $57,388,839 from 3,236 theaters averaging $17,734 per theater over three days, making $80,102,784 since its Wednesday launch, and staying at No.1 for the next two weekends. It eventually made $245,852,179 domestically and $239,163,000 overseas for a total worldwide gross of $485,015,179, becoming the third highest grossing film of 1999, and far surpassing the original. Awards Home Media VHS.JPG|Toy Story 2 VHS DVD 1-2.JPG|Toy Story 2 2000/2001 DVD DVD 2-2.JPG|Toy Story 2 2005 DVD DVD 3-2.JPG|Toy Story 2 2010 DVD Blu-Ray Combo Pack 1.2.JPG|Toy Story 2 2010 Blu-ray Blu-Ray Combo Pack 2-2.JPG|Toy Story 2 2011 Blu-ray Toy Story 2 was released on VHS and DVD and as a DVD two-pack with Toy Story on October 17th 2000. That same day an "Ultimate Toy Box" set was released containing both films and a third disc of bonus materials. The standard VHS and DVD and the DVD two-pack and "Ultimate Toy Box" sets returned to the vault on May 1st 2003. On December 26th 2005, it was again re-released as a "2-Disc Special Edition" alongside the 10th Anniversary Edition of the first film, which came out on September 6. Both editions returned to the vault on January 31st 2009. The film was available on Blu-ray Disc for the first time in a Special Edition Combo Pack that was released on March 23rd 2010, along with the original film. There was a DVD-only re-release on May 11th 2010. On November 1st 2011, along with the DVD and Blu-ray release of Cars 2 (and it Toy Story Toon Hawaiian Vacation) Toy Story 2 and the other two films were released on each Blu-ray/Blu-ray 3D/DVD/Digital Copy combo pack (4 discs each for the first two films, and 5 for the third film). They will also be released on Blu-ray 3D in a complete trilogy box set. 3D Re-Release In 2009, (In honour of its 10th anniversary) Toy Story 2, alongside its predecessor, was converted to 3D for a two-week limited theatrical re-issue. The film was released with Toy Story as a double feature for a two-week run which was extended due to its success. In addition, the film's sequel, Toy Story 3, was also released in the 3-D format. Lasseter commented on the new 3-D re-release: "The Toy Story films and characters will always hold a very special place in our hearts and we're so excited to be bringing this landmark film back for audiences to enjoy in a whole new way thanks to the latest in 3-D technology. With Toy Story 3 shaping up to be another great adventure for Buzz, Woody and the gang from Andy's room, we thought it would be great to let audiences experience the first two films all over again and in a brand new way." Translating the films into 3-D involved revisiting the original computer data and virtually placing a second camera into each scene, creating left-eye and right-eye views needed to achieve the perception of depth. Unique to computer animation, Lasseter referred to this process as "digital archaeology." The lead stereographer Bob Whitehill oversaw this process and sought to achieve an effect that impacted the emotional storytelling of the film. It took four months to resurrect the old data and get it in working order. Then, adding 3-D to each of the films took six months per film. Unlike other countries, the UK and Argentina received the films in 3-D as separate releases. Toy Story 2 was instead released January 22nd 2010, in the UK, and February 18th 2010, in Argentina. The double feature was opened in 1,745 theaters on October 2nd 2009, and made $12,491,789 in its opening weekend, coming in third place at the box office. The feature(s) closed on November 5th 2009, with a worldwide gross of $32,284,600. Sequel Eleven Years Later, Toy Story 3, The third Toy Story film, was released in theatres June 18th 2010 in 3D. In Toy Story 3, Andy has grown up and his remaining toys Woody, Buzz, Jessie, Rex, Hamm, Slinky, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, Bullseye and the Aliens wonder what will happen to them. So they acompany one of Molly's Barbie dolls to a Day-Care Centre. Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Wallace Shawn, John RatzenBurger, Don Rickles, Esttele Harris, Jeff Pidgeon, John Morris, Jodi Benson, Laurie Metcalf and R. Lee Ermey return to voice their characters from the first two films. Although Jim Varrey, The voice of Slinky in the first two films, died before production began. So Blake Clark, a good friend of Varrey’s from the 1989 film, Fast Food, provided the voice of Slinky. Bo Peep, Wheezy and Zurg make silent cameos in the movie. Trivia By The Numbers Referenes to Toy Story Easters Eggs More Trivia Posters Category:Movies Category:Disney Movies Category:Pixar Movies Category:Sequels Category:1990s Movies Category:3D Movies Category:Second Movies in Franchsies Category:Sequels to Pixar Movies‎ Category:Theatrical Movies